"All in favor of the first Oceanic Empire," Dingsworth shouted. "Say I!"

Chloe's eyes nervously darted around. First to Countess Taon, who with a mighty guffaw, said "I" with her face behind her fan.

Chloe's eyes turned to Sanders who chuckled and grinned evily. "I too!" he said in his deep country drawl.

"Well then," Dingsworth said. "How about you King Phil Le? Will you join us? We could use your oceanic might to scale the seas and claim the undersea territory for ourselves."

Chloe gazed up at the king who had risen. His head fins flapped and he moved his mighty jaws. "I do not appreciate how you coerced my friend, Princess Annabell to be here. For you may be the regent, but she has the royal blood. Therefore, I answer only to her."

Chloe grinned mischeviously. "At least some one acknowledged my royalty! And to this Oceanempire crap, I say, shell no!"

King Phil Le bowed his head. "I agree with the young queen. Even if she has been infected with some kind of demon eye disease, it is clear she retains her humanity. Perhaps those infected by Demollusks can still have agency over themselves."

Chloe pointed her fingers directly at the minister. Even from across the tent, his nostrils still flared. "You hear that, ya ding dong! We're two for and two against so no oceanempire for you!"

"We'll just see about that, Annabell!" Dingsworth said. "Especially when I..."

There was a loud roar and a giant lion came crashing through the tent. Everyone gasped as three figures roared the lion. Chloe, Ramone and Abacab all gasped.

"Swordslady!"

"Vinnie?!"

"Arr, that annoying clown squirt who betrayed us!"

"That's right, muchachos!" Monica grinned. "All three of us and John Lion himself. All the bring you a very important message!"

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Vinnie pointed his hands at Sanders and Countess Taon. "Those two leaders are brainwashed by hypnosquids! Dat lady from the eastern sea, she may be beautiful, but there is clearly evil up those robe sleeves!"

Pandemonium ensued from the other leaders and jurors. "Is this possible? Is Lady Taon a...?"

"Shut it..." The woman said coldly. "This is clearly a trick to have you all turn against me. Are you gonna take credance in your leader or a bunch pirate rogues?"

"Oh yeah, Ms. Lady?" Sunny shouted. "What's that bump in your robe."

Everyone gasped in horror. "This is merely a birth defect," she exclaimed.

"Then again," one of her jurors said. "I'm not sure how that is since we knew her from birth!"

A large black tentacle emerged from her robe and seized him. Without warning, she threw the hapless man into the circus pit. Everyone screamed in horror. Lady Taon's eyes turned completely black and she began to laugh evilly. "Ok so maybe I'm a bit more tentacruel now, but...I fully believe you all should listen to the minister."

"Why?" A lady juror asked. "It's not like we're gonna listen to you now that we know you're an freaktapus!"

"Lady Taon..." the minister said coldly. "I appreciate the endorsement, but let me take it from here."

Chloe's demon eye shot open. It swiveled in the direction of the minister. "How can this be?" Rosemary said, her normally husky voice jumping octaves. "How could I have not sensed it earlier. All these years in the care of him, and I didn't realize...the minister was really my master."

The minister threw his robe and his form expanded. His apendages grew longer and bonier. His body, was wrapped in the dark green bandages and a singular red eye peered through a heavy hood. "We, the Demollusks," Fienmond said, his voice echoed deeper than the depths of hell. "Control all of your leaders. And soon, we will infect you too!"

Chloe shook her head. "I had no idea about Dingsworth either. He seemed pretty normal all these years. But I guess the Demollusks in Dedlam might have been a give away."

King Phil Le cast his hands in the direction of the king of the demon pirates. "So, that bloated virus you infected me with. You hoped to take over my brain too like you did these other leaders."

Fienmond's red eye seered in their direction. "I had sent my elite plague demon to infect you...but it seems that fascinating young queen had managed to cure you. She amazes me to no end. She even seems to be able to withstand a demon eyeball in her head."

Chloe spat in his direction. "Well you disgust me! And of course, the mind's eye is mightier than the eye itself!"

She grinned and beat her fist into her hand. "I'm just happy you showed your ugly face, one eye."

Rosemary's energy surged through her thighs and with the strength and agility of 1000 men, Chloe leapt onto the circus pit. She jetted her limbs across the pit. "After what you did to me and my family!" Chloe shouted. "I'm gonna beat you so hard you're going to die a second time!"